Tuesday, March 18, 2014Last Update: 2:52 AM PT

SoCal Sextortionist Sentenced to 1½ Years

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - A Temecula "sextortionist" was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for extorting young women into sending him nude photos and videos, after hacking into their online accounts. Jared James Abraham, 20, pleaded guilty in November 2013 to computer hacking and three counts of extortion, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing his sentencing. He was accused of hacking into as many as 150 women's accounts. "Abrahams targeted young women he knew, and he identified other victims after hacking into Facebook pages," prosecutors said in the statement. "Using hacking software, Abrahams took control of victims' email accounts, social media accounts and even their computers - which allowed him to remotely turn on web cameras and occasionally take pictures of naked victims. "Abrahams used the nude photos to extort victims by threatening to publicly post the compromising photos or videos to the victims' social media accounts - unless the victim either sent more nude photos or videos, or engaged in a Skype session with him and did what he said for five minutes. "Several teens and women in their early 20s were victimized when Abrahams posted nude photos to their social media accounts. At least two victims consented to the Skype sessions proposed by Abrahams to keep their photos off the Internet." It's the third such sextortion sentencing in California since 2011. The other men received longer sentences: 5 and 6 years.